The Yard and Keeping the Dogs In

*I was not compensated in any way to write this review.*

I think you know my dogs by now:

 Hugo is the little one and C.C. is my big girl. Hugo is our little escape artist. Before moving, he would climb our bull-wire fence and terrorize the neighborhood from time to time. That was fine in the last house, but our new house is in a more central part of town that comes with a lot more traffic.

I can't remember if I've shared much of the new yard. Here are a couple panoramic shots I took when we did the house inspection:

The whole yard has a mishmash of wood, lattice, and wire fencing. I just knew that Hugo would climb out to chase something and get hit by a car! Even with a new fancy fence (that we want to add eventually), I wasn't feeling very comfortable at all...

So we got an Invisible Fence! Can you see it? Kidding... Actually, you can tell where the boundaries are based on those white flags. They tell Hugo where the safe zone is.

 

You can see what the wire looks like from this picture. We plan to redo the driveway so the installer just used large staple-like things to keep the force fields in place.

Oh, and if you haven't caught on, Invisible Fences are the things that shock your dogs when they cross over the boundaries. We only have Hugo on the system (see his collar) because he's the one that actually tries to escape and has the personality that matches this training method better. I know that some people would say that this is cruel in a way, but... small shock to teach a lesson > getting killed by a car!

I can't tell you how much peace this "fence" has brought to my mind!! Hugo has done an amazing job and has received a "correction" (shock) fewer than ten times in the month+ that we've had it.

For the indoors, we use a disc by the front door for keeping him from bolting out towards traffic. It works so well that when I've forgotten to pick him up to carry him out for a walk (the routine we have to do to get past the door), he actually pulls back from the correction area when I'm trying to lead him out the door!

I do wish that I though more about the placement of the hub. I didn't really think about how large it would be and how they would need to drill through the wall to get it in place.

We paid right around $1,500 in total for the system, installation, collar, training, battery backup, and indoor disc... but, as thrifty as I am, I truly don't regret a penny of it! At the same time, I don't think that I would fully trust it if we did not have backup fences in place because I know that he could get by it if something really worth the effort went by (like a cat or squirrel). Stay tuned to see how we plan to upgrade the fencing and rework the landscaping!

Does anyone else use an Invisible Fence? How does it work for you? 

PS Nate had one of these fences for his Husky growing up, but he said that his dog would just charge through the system. I have a feeling that it doesn't work for all breeds/ personalities.